$18.6M windfall for NMI

The CNMI will be at the receiving end of an $18.602 million windfall from the federal government this fiscal year, after the U.S. Congress passed last Saturday the Omnibus Appropriations Act for FY 2005. The new fiscal year began on Oct. 1.

The appropriation measure allocates for the CNMI $12.431 million for Capital Improvement Projects, $1 million for water system improvement, and $5.171 million for Compact Impact, which is included in the Interior and Related Agencies portion of the bill.

This, said Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio, is $1.4 million greater than the amount agreed to in the most recent Covenant 702 Agreement for CIP, and no local match is required. The $1 million for water follows last year’s $2 million appropriation for water.

“This is great news,” said Tenorio upon hearing the news. “This is a clear message that Congress understands our needs and is willing to assist us. We have worked all year on these appropriations items, but because everything was so rushed and confusing at the end, we weren’t completely sure what the final version contained. In fact, we are still combing through the bill to see what else is in there.”

The bill now goes to President Bush for enactment into law.

Other bills, however, relating to the CNMI, such as the Delegate status bill, failed to make it but U.S. lawmakers assured that they would re-introduce it in the next U.S. Congress when they convene next year.

Tenorio said the CNMI has been “very lucky” with last year’s and this year’s water system funds, totaling $3 million, but great care must be taken in expending this funding.

“Future funds of this nature will be dependent upon how we spend these monies and what effect they have had on our problems. Overall, though, it is really just a drop in the bucket of what is needed to give us 24-hour drinkable water,” said Tenorio.

The bill also contains language requiring the Department of the Interior to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a comprehensive, coordinated, and detailed implementation program for the plans developed by the corps by July 31, 2005. The plan is to identify projects, responsible agency, funding needs, implementation schedule, any statutory or other changes necessary to implement the program and a specific timetable for full completion.

The bill, H.R. 4818, was almost the sole item under consideration by the U.S. Congress in their lame duck session held last week. Prior to this, only three appropriations bills—those for the U.S. Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction—made it into law. All other federal agencies had been operating on continuing resolutions.

In addition to the CIP and water funds, Congress also included funds amounting to $200,000 for the Army Corps of Engineers for the Rota Harbor and $500,000 for resident instruction to be shared among insular area Land Grant programs.

“I am continuing to read this bill carefully as there are other things in the bill that I need to follow up on but, all in all, Congress has been very nice to us this year,” said Tenorio.